The Naksat cities are a chain of twelve inter-linked cities or muangs of the ancient Malay

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 Kingdom of Tambralinga

Tambralinga

Tambralinga was an ancient kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula that at one time came under the influence of Srivijaya. The name had been forgotten until scholars recognized Tambralinga as Nagara Sri Dharmaraja. Early records are scarce while estimations range from the seventh to fourteenth...

. The cities acted as an outer shield, surrounding the capital Nakorn Si Thammarat

Nakhon Si Thammarat kingdom

Nakhon Si Thammarat Kingdom was one of the major constituent city states of the Siamese kingdoms of Sukhothai and later Ayutthaya and controlled a big part of the Malay peninsula...

, and were connected by land so that help could be sent from one city to another in the event of surprise attacks.

The term Naksat refers to the Lunar calendar system, the Naksat Pi, which is based on a duodenary cycle of years, with each year being associated with a particular animal.

Eleven of the twelve cities have been identified and are all located on the Malay Peninsula

Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland...

. The eleven cities with their associated animal "years" are Narathiwat

Narathiwat Province

Narathiwat is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Yala and Pattani. To the south it borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan. The southern railway line ends in this province that is one of the nation’s five provinces that borders Malaysia. The name of this...

 (Rat), Pattani

Pattani Province

Pattani is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Narathiwat, Yala and Songkhla.-Geography:...

 (Ox), Kelantan

Kelantan

Kelantan is a state of Malaysia. The capital and royal seat is Kota Bharu. The Arabic honorific of the state is Darul Naim, ....

 (Tiger), Kedah

Kedah

Kedah is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km², and it consists of the mainland and Langkawi. The mainland has a relatively flat terrain, which is used to grow rice...

 (Big Snake), Patalung

Phatthalung Province

Phatthalung is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Nakhon Si Thammarat, Songkhla, Satun and Trang.-Geography:...

 (Little Snake), Trang

Trang Province

Trang is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, at the western shore of the Malay Peninsula to the Andaman Sea. Neighboring provinces are Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Satun....

 (Horse), Chumporn

Chumphon Province

Chumphon ) is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, at the shore of the Gulf of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Prachuap Khiri Khan, Surat Thani and Ranong...

 (Goat), Krabi

Krabi Province

Krabi is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, at the shore of the Andaman Sea. Neighbouring provinces are Phang Nga, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Trang. The Phuket province to the west is also neighbouring, but without any land boundary...

 (Monkey), Kanchanadit (Chicken), Phuket

Phuket Province

Phuket , formerly known as Thalang and, in Western sources, Junk Ceylon , is one of the southern provinces of Thailand...

 or Takuapa (Dog) and Kraburi (Pig). The missing city, Muang Pahang, is associated with the Year of the Rabbit. It has also been speculated that Kota Gelanggi

Kota Gelanggi

Kota Gelanggi is an archaeological site reported in 2005 as potentially the first capital of the ancient Malay Empire of Srivijaya and dating to around 650–900 and one of the oldest pre-Islamic Malay Kingdoms on South East Asia's Malay Peninsula...

 is the twelfth city.

Reference to the cities appear in the chronicles of Nakorn Si Thammarat

Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Nakhon Si Thammarat is one of the southern provinces of Thailand, at the eastern shore of the Gulf of Thailand...

 and the chronicles of the Phra Dhatu Nakorn.